Richard Milhous Nixon, former vice president, U.S representative and U.S. senator of California, served as the thirty-seventh president of the United States during 1969 through 1974. Though Nixon has suffered numerous tragedies in his lifetime, he has become one of the most memorable presidents in United States history. Nixon’s most recognized achievements included successfully improving international relations with China and the Soviet Union, as well as withdrawing U.S. troops from a treacherous war in Vietnam. However, Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal tarnished his legacy, causing him to be the first to ever resign from office. Nevertheless, his famous quote, “When the President does it, that means it is not illegal,” evidently did him no justice.
President Nixon was born on January 9, 1913 in Yorba Linda, California. He was the second of five sons of Francis Anthony Nixon, who was a struggling service station owner and grocer. His mother was a quaker who imposed a vigorous influence on her children. Nixon’s early life was quite challenging due to his family’s working class conditions which he characterizes by saying, “We were poor, but the glory of it was we didn’t know it.” Moreover, Nixon and his family suffered an immense loss twice, after his younger brother died in 1925 of a short illness, and in 1933, where his older brother, whom he greatly admired, deceased of tuberculosis.
Firmly dissatisfied by his family’s unfavorable circumstances, Nixon developed a strong sense of ambition. Nixon attended Whittier high school, where he graduated second in his class and was offered a scholarship to Harvard, yet his family was unable to afford the travel and living expenses. So, Nixon attended a local college, Whittier College, where he excelled as a debater and before graduating in 1934, he was undoubtedly elected as president of the student body. Upon graduation, he received a full-ride scholarship to Duke University Law School, where he then became head of the student bar association and nearly graduated top of his class. Three years after graduating from Duke University, Mr. Nixon returned to his hometown, where he began working as an attorney. Shortly after, he met his future wife, Thelma Catherine “Pat” Ryan, a teacher and amateur actress, where the two were cast in the same play at a local community theatre. Furthermore, in 1940, Richard and Thelma married and went on to have two daughters, Tricia and Julie Nixon.
However, Nixon had many more aspiring plans on his agenda, being an attorney for a local town was not nearly enough with a man of his determination. Therefore, in August 1942, he and his wife moved to Washington, D.C., where he was offered a job by Franklin Roosevelt in his Office of Price Administration. Enlightened by the New Deal’s big-government programs and red tape, he quickly left the public service field for the U.S Navy, serving as an operations officer for the Pacific. He eventually rose to a higher rank, becoming lieutenant commander during World War II, before he chose to resign his commission in January 1946.
Lead by the war, Nixon commenced his political career in the year of 1946, after defeating a five-term Democratic occupant who served as a representative of the California district in the U.S House of Representatives. Thereafter, he served on the House of Un-American Activities Committee as a congressman, and advanced to national eminence in the late 1930’s by leading a contentious examination of Alger Hiss, a well respected former State Department official who was accused of being a spy for the Soviet Union.
Soon after, Nixon was re-elected to Congress in 1948, and two years later, successfully ran for the United States Senate against Democrat Helen Gahagan Douglas. Due to his fervent anti-Communist reputation, he became noticed by General Dwight D. Eisenhower of the Republican Party, who believed Nixon could bring forward valuable support upon the west coast. In 1952, Eisenhower selected first-term senator Nixon to be his vice presidential running partner. However, few months prior to accepting the nomination, Mr. Nixon became a suspect of a negative campaign by industry activists, accusing him of a fund being used improperly. Morefully so, he answered these assumptions in his famous “Checkers” speech, which had been exposed on national television, claiming the only gift he had ever accepted was a cocker spaniel named Checkers for his beloved six-year old daughter, Tricia. On that note, although he had won his ticket, the speech perhaps ingrained a deep distrust of widespread media in Nixon, provoking a future full-on political disaster.
Moreover, Eisenhower and Nixon won the election of 1952 and again were re-elected in 1956. Regrettably, between 1955 and and 1957, Eisenhower became incapacitated and suffered various illnesses, such as heart attack and stroke. Even though Nixon held very limited formal power as vice president during his two terms, due to these irrepressible circumstances, he began expanding office to an important and noticeable affair. Surely, as president of the Senate, he maintained assurance of Eisenhower approved bills, such as the the 1957 Civil Rights bill. Likewise, as the health scares became more prominent, this prompted Eisenhower to formalize an agreement with Nixon on the responsibilities and powers of the vice president which had later been accepted by administrations.
In the year of 1960, Richard Nixon finally launches his campaign for presidency. Unfortunately for Nixon, he loses one of the closest elections in American history by a narrow margin, to Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Although there had been some charges of voter fraud on Kennedy’s end, court rulings showed that Kennedy had a greater number of electoral votes even after the recounts. Under these unruly standings, Nixon deserts further inspections, in which he receives praise for his dignity and professionalism in the face of defeat, which could have costed him his presidency.
After this major loss, Nixon decides to return back to his home state, where he continued practicing law and wrote a memorable book, Six Crises, which recorded his life as a congressman, senator, and vice president. Nonetheless, in 1962, a group of Republican leaders encouraged Nixon to run for Governor of California, reluctant to run, Nixon decides to go forward with it, yet losing another political battle. Subsequently, Nixon and his family move to New York, where he sustains practicing law and gracefully remakes himself as America’s senior statesman.
After recognizing his regain of political superiority, Nixon presents a keen contrast to the heightening war in Vietnam and the rising anti-war protests. Correspondingly, Mr. Nixon begins acquiring support from the Republican base, in which honored his intellect of politics and international affairs. Boosting his recognition, he also writes an article for Foreign Affairs magazine, entitled “Asia after Vietnam,” which assuredly enhanced his reputation. However, at this point, Nixon is still hesitant on whether to re-enter the political world and run again for presidency. After consulting with family and friends, he announces his candidacy for president, and makes a remarkable comeback. He prevails in the 1968 U.S. presidential election, where he defeats Democrat Hubert Humphrey and third-party candidate George Wallace.At this time, Nixon takes office at a time of turmoil and tremendous change in the U.S. American troops were being bitterly divided over the Vietnam War while African American’s were marching for equal rights and racial justice. Sadly, the United States was in an unrelenting position, but just in time for Nixon’s saving.
Consequently, President Nixon proceeds by wanting to declare his intention to achieve “peace with honor” in Vietnam. He introduces vietnamization, a strategy that called for withdrawing American troops from the war while training South Vietnamese soldiers to take over their own defense. Nonetheless, in January 1973, a peace agreement had been reached with communist North Vietnam, yet hostilities continued. Likewise, in 1975, North Vietnam overthrew South Vietnam and reunited the country under communist decree. Despite dealing with the unforgiving circumstances of North Vietnam, in 1972, Nixon made significant visits to China and the Soviet Union. By doing so, he alleviated tensions between these communist nations and the United States, helping to set forward formal diplomatic relations with each other.
Besides Nixon’s commendable act of the Vietnam War and imposing successions between China and the U.S.S.R, he becomes part of a scandal that causes his presidency to become defamed. In 1972, the time for re-election, operatives associated with his campaign broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel, in Washington D.C. Denying any type of involvement in this unlawful act, many members of Nixon’s administration were knowledgeable of the burglary. Secret tapes of White House conversations were shortly after leaked, proving his participation in this criminal act and revealed his efforts to cover up this shame. Congress became infuriated, resulting in impeaching him, however, before they had the chance to, Nixon resigned from office on August 9, 1974.
In conclusion, after resigning from the office, Nixon retired in California with his family, and soon after, moved to New Jersey. Thereafter, he began working on reestablishing his image, which included writing books, traveling greatly, and seeking suggestions from Democratic and Republican presidents. Unfortunately by this time, on April 22, 1994, Nixon died in New York City at age eighty-one after suffering a stroke. Some Americans viewed him as a respected elder statesman, others rejected efforts to honor him in any way, visioning him as nothing but a shamed criminal.